The Quest of the Golden Fleece
The Quest of the Golden Fleece is the 15th short story which appeared in the anthology , published in May 1950. The events in the story take place during the Second World War in England. In the anthology, it is preceded by Potpurri and followed by Hunter's Moon. Synopsis An R.A.F. fighter pilot visits the "Golden Fleece" bar where he meets a French girl. She asks him for a special favour.... Plot (may contain spoilers - click on expand to read) Flight Lieutenant Cedric Delane visits the Golden Fleece bar. There, a French dancer Marie Valais notices that he is alone and approaches him. They have a few drinks and dance for a while after which she invites him upstairs for more drinks. She tells him how she had been trapped in England by the German occupation of France and how she wished she could communicate with her father. He lived in the Chateau Tourette in Normandy and persuades Cedric to drop a message for her in the grounds of the chateau. It would be illegal so she writes the letter for her father and asks him to read it so that he knows it is perfectly innocent. The next day, Delane takes off in his Hurricane but carrying a bomb in on an improvised rack on its underside. Taking advantage of low cloud, he crosses the Channel undetected and approaches the Chateau and dives towards his target. Multiple flak guns open up at him but he continues his dive and delivers a direct hit with his bomb. The flak, which has scored some minor hits suddenly dies away, signalling for him that enemy fighters are approaching. Cedric spots a large formation of Messerschmitt Me 109 fighters converging on him. He does not stay to fight but heads for England, using the low cloud for cover. After a while he sees a squadron of Hurricanes descend on the Messerschmitts. The trap had been sprung! The Messerschmitts realise they are cut off and outnumbered and break for home but not before some are shot down in the ensuing dogfight. The Hurricanes came from Cedric's squadron and he then leads them home. Cedric goes to the Golden Fleece and finds Marie. She seems a little surprised to see him He tells her he has "delivered" her message and he knows what is going on. Some time ago she had asked one of his subordinates and friends Jimmy Hardy to do the same thing. Jimmy had died because the chateau had been a death trap, heavily defended by flak guns. But Jimmy had left a note before flying off, telling him what he was doing. After reading it, Cedric had come to the Golden Fleece bar to look for Marie. He tells her he had passed her letter to Scotland Yard, and they knew all about the secret map she had drawn on the envelope. A Scotland Yard inspector is standing right next to her to arrest her. a Scotland Yard man. Characters *Flight Lieutenant Cedric Delane *Marie Valais *Jimmy Hardy *Inspector Morier Aircraft *Hawker Hurricane *Messerschmitt Me 109 Ships Places Visited *"Golden Fleece" bar, London *Chateau Tourette, Normandy Research Notes *The main premise of this story is somewhat similar to that of Affaire de Coeur although there the purpose was more to deliver intelligence rather than lure pilots into a trap. Note the girl in Golden Fleece is also Marie. *The idea of a trap for enemy aircraft also has some antecendants in the The Dragon's Lair. Publication History *Collected in Short Sorties, Latimer House, 1950 *Collected in Short Sorties and Sky Fever, Norman Wright, 2006 References External Links Category:Short stories Category:Other short stories Category:Adult short stories